


She's A Fighter

by Raziel12



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Fighting, Gen, MMA, Martial Arts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 06:44:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2641973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raziel12/pseuds/Raziel12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fang knows talent when she sees it, and Claire "Lightning" Farron might just be the kind of fighter that Sazh can turn into another champion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's A Fighter

**She’s A Fighter**

Fang hadn’t always been a champion. She’d started from the bottom, the same as everybody else. She’d cut her teeth fighting in the shady, underground fighting circuit before catching a break and making her way to the bright lights of the World Mixed Combat Championship. The WMCC had brought her fame, fortune, and a pretty – but utterly impractical – belt to hang around her waist.

But as much as she enjoyed the financial security that her success had brought, it had always been about the fighting. She was never more alive than when she was in the cage, fighting off a takedown or shooting for one of her own, slipping a punch or throwing a sledgehammer of a right hand over the top of her opponent’s jab.

That was why Fang always found the time to visit the underground fighting circuit no matter where she was. She’d heard rumours of a fighter from New Bodhum, someone with a heck of a lot of polish for someone so young. Fang was twenty-five – a fighter in her prime – but this kid she’d been hearing about was only twenty-one. Still, whoever she was, she’d built up quite a reputation taking on fighters all along the coast.

If that wasn’t enough, she was even supposed to have pink hair. Fang chuckled and pushed her way to the front of the crowd, careful to keep her face hidden under her hoodie. What kind of fighter had pink hair? It had to be some kind of joke.

Oh well, she was about to find out.

The announcer brought out the fighters for the next match. Fang missed the name of the first fighter, but it was the second fighter that she’d come to see. Well, it looked like the rumours were true. Claire “Lightning” Farron really did have pink hair. 

Fang’s eyes narrowed as she studied both combatants. The first one was a brunette about her height. She had a solid build, and she seemed at ease in the cage, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Farron was shorter, but she had the lean muscles of a fighter built for a combination of speed and power.

As the referee called both women to the centre of the cage, Fang was struck by how calm Farron seemed. There was no bouncing around, no wasted motion. Her blue eyes were ice and steel. The referee explained the rules, the fighters touched gloves, and then the fight began.

Farron glided forward, smooth and easy on her feet. She had a boxer’s stance for the most part, hands held high, almost inviting a takedown. It wasn’t long before her opponent obliged. The brunette fired off a pair of quick jabs before faking a right cross and changing levels. She shot forward, looking to try to grab a single leg. Farron slipped the punches with an ease that could only have come from years of practice.

But how would she handle the takedown attempt?

Her answer came in the form of a blindingly fast right uppercut. Farron must have known what her stance invited and prepared accordingly. The punch snapped the brunette’s head up and back, and she staggered away. Fang expected Farron to rush after her, winging punches in to try to end the fight. It was what most rookies did, and Fang had turned more than one fight around by playing possum and catching her opponent as they rushed forward.

Farron took a more measured approach.

She fired off three jabs as she moved forward. They were quick, but she stepped into each of them, lending them enough weight to drive her opponent back. Then she fired a straight right hand, right down the middle. The other woman caught the punch on her gloves and retreated. She needed to clear her head and get her legs back – Farron had no intention of making it that easy.

Farron’s right leg swept out into a thumping leg kick that caught her opponent’s lead leg as she tried to shuffle back. It was sheer luck that the brunette managed to stay on her feet as her leg almost went out from under her. Farron followed her, continuing to throw those blazingly fast jabs and that laser-like right hand. Each time her opponent tried to get out of punching range, she would land another hard leg kick.

Fang pursed her lips. The leg kicks were nice, but the punches were what really caught her attention. That was textbook boxing technique. Farron must have grown up boxing because there were very, very few mixed martial artists with form that good. But what else did she have in her arsenal? So far, she’d only shown a great jab and a wonderful straight right hand.

Sooner or later, her opponent was going to do something about that jab. Right on cue, Farron’s opponent growled and surged forward. She threw punches with both hands – looping overhand rights and lunging left hooks – in an attempt to punish Farron’s jab. The pink-haired woman kept her cool and circled away, turning her opponent, her footwork impeccable. And then, right as the other woman leaned forward and wound up a big right hand, Farron stopped, planted her feet, and fired a beautiful left hook into her opponent’s exposed chin.

The brunette’s legs went limp and Farron turned, walking to the other side of the cage as her opponent collapsed onto the mat face first. Fang’s heart raced, and the crowd roared. That was a chilling knock out. Sure, Farron’s opponent had gotten wild, but Farron had almost taken her head off with that last shot. 

Fang needed to call Sazh. He was always looking for fighters to add to his team, and Farron might just be what he was looking for.

X X X

“You’re sure?” Sazh sat down opposite Fang at the café table. She’d scraped together some footage of Farron’s fights and put it on her phone. It hadn’t been easy. The underground fighting circuit was careful not to draw too much attention. Some of the fights were… less than legal. “You really think she can make it in the WMCC?”

“Just look at the footage, Sazh. It’s impossibly to be sure until she steps into the cage, but look at her. She’s got great hands – crisp technique and a hell of a lot of power. She knows how to box, and her leg kicks aren’t bad.” Fang showed him another clip on her phone. “I don’t know if she can wrestle or grapple, but that’s what a team is for. We can teach her that. She just needs a chance – the kind of chance I got.”

Sazh rewound the clip. “I’ve been doing this a long time, Fang. You know that. I used to be a fighter myself.” He took a sip of his coffee. “It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen hands that good.” He paused. “Now that I think about it, there used to be a boxing trainer named Farron. He trained a few champs back in his day. The last I heard, he and his wife were in a car accident or something. This could be her daughter – it would explain where her technique comes from.” He sighed. “The thing is that I’ve only got one spot open at the moment. She’d have to try out for it – I’ve got at least half a dozen others waiting too.”

“So, let her try out.” Fang put her phone back in her pocket. “I know talent when I see it. At least go see her fight. Then decide for yourself.”

X X X

It was another three months before Sazh found the time to visit New Bodhum.

Just being back there brought back some old memories. He’d been a fighter once upon a time before his wife had passed away and he’d been forced to give up the cage to look after his son. He’d spent a couple of years working small shows up and down the coast, some of them official and some of them in the underground fighting circuit. Nowadays, though, he made his money as a trainer, and he had a stable full of fighters and a couple of world champions. He smiled. He’d been so proud when Fang and Snow won their belts. 

It had been a while since he’d gone to see a fighter like this, but Fang had a knack for spotting talent. It was how she’d known that Vanille would take to Jiu Jitsu like a fish to water. Sure, the redhead wasn’t the biggest or the strongest, but Sazh had yet to meet a craftier grappler. Most grapplers approached grappling like a game of checkers – Vanille liked to play chess.

Sazh ignored the crowd around him and waited patiently for the preliminary fights to finish. Most of the fights at a gathering like this were rough – men and women would face off and sling punches and kicks at each other while hoping for the best. Only the last couple of fights would have any real quality. 

And it was the very last fight that he was really interested in. Farron was up against a former WMCC fighter. Sure, the other woman hadn’t been in the WMCC for almost two years, but it would give him a much better idea of what Farron was capable of than a fight against some random opponent.

Sazh had also done some research before coming. Farron was the person he was thinking of – the daughter of a man who’d trained champions. She was probably fighting for the money. A bit of digging had revealed that she’d been forced to sell her father’s gym shortly after his death. Now, Farron and her sister lived in a small apartment in an okay part of town. These underground fights didn’t pay a lot, but there were a lot of them, and Farron could add quite a bit more by betting on herself.

The fight got off to a quick start. Farron’s opponent was a blonde in her early thirties. She wasn’t quite at her physical peak anymore, but she had years of experience on the pink-haired woman. In fact, back when she’d first entered the WMCC, Fang had fought the blonde and earned a hard-won victory. That victory had been the first of many that had catapulted Fang from an unknown prospect to a world champion. The blonde was a well-rounded fighter, someone who could grapple, wrestle, and strike competently. In other words, she was no joke.

Farron circled the blonde, hands up, her stance mostly square. The blonde threw a few feints with her hands and then launched a heavy leg kick. Farron ignored the feints and checked the kick. Sazh nodded in approval. She’d seen through the feints, and she hadn’t hesitated to check the kick. He didn’t know where she’d learned how to kick, but that showed a lot of confidence.

The veteran fighter continued to test Farron’s defence, tossing out some quick jabs and the occasional lead right hand. Farron bobbed and weaved, never taking more than a glancing hit to the shoulder. This must be why they called her Lightning – she had excellent reflexes. Suddenly, the blonde opted to put some real force into her punches.

The blonde threw a hard left hook to the body. Farron twisted away at the last moment, taking the sting out of the punch, but her opponent followed with a right to the body and another left to the ribs. Farron eased out of range and circled away before lunging in with a lead right hand. It was a stunningly fast shot, and the blonde stumbled back. Farron followed her, slipping punches and elbows and replying with hooks and uppercuts as she refused to back off.

The pair of women traded left hooks, and the blonde pulled Farron into a clinch and shoved her back into the fence of the cage. Farron kept her cool and pivoted off the fence, reversing their positions. The pink-haired woman couldn’t break the clinch entirely, but she fired off a knee to her opponent’s thigh and then another to her side before pulling herself in, locking their bodies together as she jockeyed for a rough trip. They broke apart, and the veteran jammed a leg kick into Farron’s lead leg before the pink-haired woman moved out of range.

The first round came to an end without either fighter taking much more damage, but Sazh had to give the round to Farron. She had landed the harder, crisper blows.

The second round started, and Farron moved in again, hammering away with her own leg kicks and looking to land her straight right through the middle of her opponent’s guard. It was a beautiful punch to watch, thrown with very little warning and with a lot of speed and force behind it. The blonde was smart enough to be wary of it, and her hands drifted forward, moving into position to either catch or parry Farron’s right before it could land cleanly.

As the second round moved into the final minute, the veteran decided to take Farron’s right hand on her shoulder and drive at her hips. Farron sprawled, but the blonde was strong – stronger than Farron gave her credit for. She hooked her arms under Farrons legs in a double leg, and they crashed to the mat together.

The blonde immediately looked to establish position. Farron mounted a clumsy attempt to pull guard before giving up her back and somehow scrambling to her feet. The blonde rushed in for another take down, but Farron backed her up with a punishing right hand to the body, followed by two solid jabs to the body and a hard leg kick. Sazh frowned faintly. Farron clearly wasn’t as good on the ground as she was on her feet, but she’d shown some savvy in managing to scramble back to her feet. 

Sazh could work with her on her wrestling and grappling before turning her over to Vanille for some polishing. Snow could probably help out too. The big man had a knack for wrestling that made him even more dangerous than his enormous frame would suggest. 

The second round ended, and Sazh had to hand it to the blonde veteran. She’d put Farron on her back and had come close to securing a choke during the scramble back to their feet.

The third round started, and the blonde looked for another takedown, feinting a jab and then changing levels. But Farron was wary now, lowering her guard to better fight off an attack on her hips. Still, she continued to fire off that straight right, pawing with it every now and then, drawing the other woman’s guard further and further forward. The blonde likely knew how much damage Farron’s hands could do.

And then, halfway through the third round, Sazh saw the move that made him a believer.

Farron fired off her right hand twice: the first time was a hard, stinging shot that staggered her opponent, and the second was a sharp, jolting strike. When she went in for a third time, her opponent’s hands moved forward to intercept her straight right hand – only she had no intention of throwing a punch. Instead, she feinted the punch and then pivoted into a right head kick that struck the blonde with terrifying force.

The blonde was out before she hit the ground. The kick had been delivered with wonderful quickness, so fast that Sazh doubted that the blonde had even seen it. He shook his head. That was one hell of a kick – and it hadn’t been an accident either. Farron had set it up with those right hands, each of which had drawn her opponent’s guard further and further forward until she was wide open for a kick to come around the side rather than through the middle.

Sazh waited until the usual post-fight madness was over before making his way over to Farron. She had the coldest blue eyes he’d ever seen. He watched her take off her gloves before stepping forward. He didn’t have to introduce himself.

“You’re Sazh Katzroy.” Farron’s voice was quiet but stern. “You’ve got a dozen fighters in the WMCC.”

“That’s right.” Sazh handed her a card. “I watched you fight tonight. You’re good. Listen, I’ve got an open spot on my team. I can’t promise you the spot, but I am willing to fly you out to Nautilus so you participate in some tryouts for it.”

“And if I get the spot?” Farron asked. She turned the card over in her hands. “What then?”

“Then I’m pretty sure I can get you into the WMCC. No more fighting in underground circuits. You’ll be fighting officially.”

“I have a sister.” Farron didn’t bother pointing out what that meant. It was about the money. She needed more of it.

“I know. Every fighter in the WMCC gets a minimum amount per fight, and they’ll cover your insurance too. If you do well, you can pick up sponsors too. If everything works you, you’ll be making more money than you’ve ever made before.” Sazh nodded. “Think about it. And call me when you’ve made up your mind.”

X X X

Fang wasn’t surprised the least bit surprised when she walked into the gym one day to find Farron there with an old duffel back and a scowl. She bit back a smile. There was something oddly fitting about that expression on the other woman’s face. 

“Yo.” Fang waved and ambled over to Farron. Apart from the receptionist, they were the only ones there. “Fancy seeing you here.” She stuck out her hand. “The name’s Fang.”

“Lightning.” Farron shook her hand. “You’re Oerba Yun Fang – you’re the champion in your weight class.”

“I am.” Fang glanced over at one of the areas set aside for sparring. “I was about to do some sparring, but my sparring partner hasn’t arrived yet. Care to join me?”

Lightning’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Well, Fang could understand that. Most gyms had a pecking order, and newcomers were often introduced to that the hard way. Fang had never felt the need to throw her weight around like that. This was just a simple offer to spar, one fighter to another. Lightning must have come to the same conclusion.

“Okay.”

“We’ll keep this light,” Fang said as they both began to glove up. “We’ll keep it on the feet too, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine.” Lightning broke into a light jog around the perimeter of the gym. “Just let me warm up first.”

“I should probably do that too.” Fang grinned and set off after Lightning. “Race you?”

Fang laughed as she raced past Lightning. However, it wasn’t long before the pink-haired woman had the lead back. Apparently, she wasn’t quite as dour as her expression suggested. And she was fast. Deciding to see exactly how fast Lighting was, Fang broke into a sprint. But Lightning was more than equal to the challenge, maintaining a small, but steady lead.

When they finally came to a stop and began to move through their stretches, Fang was grinning from ear to ear. “You’re pretty fast.”

Lightning shrugged. “I used to do track.”

“You don’t anymore?” Fang was careful to keep her eyes on Lightning’s face, but it was impossible to ignore how fit and toned the other woman’s body was. 

“No. I’m a fighter now.” Lightning took a deep breath. “Are you ready to go?”

“Right.” Fang stood up, and the pair of them touched gloves. “Let’s go.”

Fang led off with a few jabs. She wanted a closer look at Lightning’s reflexes. She wasn’t disappointed. The other woman was as fast as she remembered. She avoided each punch and then replied with a jab of her own, stepping into the punch to make up the difference in reach before firing off a quick hook with the same hand in an effort to get around Fang’s guard. 

Fang parried the hook and shot off a leg kick that Lightning avoided. “You’re good with your hands. Did you father teach you that?”

Lightning’s expression didn’t change. “So you know? Yes, he was the one who taught me. He didn’t care that I was a girl. I was his daughter, so he let me hang around while he trained his fighters until I was old enough for him to train me too.” Lightning dipped into a body jab before throwing a push kick that shoved Fang back.

Fang shook off the kick. It was fast, but she could take a hit. Besides, she was fairly sure now that she had the edge on Lightning in terms of raw strength. She circled the pink-haired woman and threw some more leg kicks. If Lightning wanted to throw punches, then Fang needed to keep her off balance and out of range. Lightning handled the kicks well, checking some and avoiding others, before moving into a clinch. 

They exchanged elbows and knees, jockeying for position, until they broke apart. Fang held her hand up to signal the end of the spar. They’d been going for almost ten minutes now, and she didn’t want to push too hard. The tryouts would begin in the next couple of days, so Lightning needed to stay fresh.

“Where did you learn to kick?” Fang asked.

Lightning took off her gloves. “I took martial arts classes growing up. But I learned a lot from fighting on the circuit.” Her eyes hardened. “You learn what works pretty fast when making a mistake gets you punched or kicked in the head.”

“That’s true.” Fang sighed. “I remember my time on the underground circuit. I liked to think of it as on-the-job training. Seriously, running into Sazh was the best bit of luck I ever had.” She handed Lightning a bottle of water. “Come on, I’ll show you around. This place is great.”

X X X

Lightning made it through the tryouts. Fang had known she would. She’d seen it in Lightning’s eyes at the end of their spar. The pink-haired woman wouldn’t stop until she’d made it. She cut through her opponents like a buzz saw. Most of her opponents never made it out of the cage on their own feet. The two that did managed to grapple and wrestle their way to survival, but Lightning knew enough to avoid being submitted. And when she got back onto her feet, she repaid the favour with interest.

“She’ll be great one day,” Sazh murmured. They were having their medic take a look at Lightning’s last opponent. An elbow had opened a gash above her right eye, and a right cross had almost knocked her out. 

“She’s already pretty good.” Fang winced as the medic took a closer look at the gash. That would definitely need stitches. “But she needs to work on her grappling and wrestling.”

Sazh laughed. “You leave that to me. You’ve got to worry about your next fight. Paine is no joke.”

Fang made a face. Paine would be her most dangerous opponent yet. True, she wasn’t the most technical striker, but she had great instincts and power along with a knack for finding holes in her opponents’ defences. She wasn’t half bad on the ground either. She’d submitted three of her last five opponents after being taken down.

“Don’t worry, Sazh. I’ll be ready.”

X X X

Lightning was a firm believer in the value of track work. She’d learned that watching her father and his fighters. Power, speed, and skill were all important in a fight. But in a fight between two equally matched fighters, the one with more endurance would usually win. That was why she left her new apartment shortly after sunrise to take a run around the neighbourhood.

There was also something cathartic about running. There was a sense of order to it, a feeling of accomplishment. If she ran each day and took good care of herself, then she would improve. If she neglected her training and became lazy, she would get worse. It was nice and logical in a way that the rest of the world rarely was.

It wasn’t long, however, before she had company. Fang was also going for a run around the neighbourhood. She gave the other woman a brief nod and then turned her focus inward again. She couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity. If she could make it big in the WMCC, she and Serah wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. As it was, she would have to dig quite deeply into her savings to maintain her new apartment and help Serah with her rent and tuition in New Bodhum. The younger woman was already working, in addition to going to university. If she had to take on another job, she would probably have to drop out.

Still, Lightning was very much aware of the woman running just behind her. She’d noticed it when she sparred against Fang. The brunette seemed to fill every room she entered with her presence. It wasn’t just her easy smile and her good looks – it was her confidence and determination. Fang might seem friendly enough – and she probably was too – but there was steel under her smile, steel that could only have come from years of fighting inside and outside of the cage. 

Lightning finally stopped in a small park not far from her apartment. Fang stopped as well, and neither of them said a word as they cooled down and moved through their stretches. Only after they had both finished and sat down on opposite ends of a wooden bench did Fang speak.

“Do you run often?” Fang asked.

“When I can.” Lightning pursed her lips. “Do you always talk to the newcomer this much?”

Fang laughed. “Only when the newcomer wears a perpetual scowl.” Her eyes twinkled. “But, look, I’ll be honest. You’re interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone with as much striking talent as you. I’m curious to see if you can get your grappling and wrestling up to the same level.”

“I’ll try.” Lightning frowned. “I’ve been watching the WMCC ever since it started. Striking helps, but I will only get so far if I can’t round out my grappling and wrestling too.” She inclined her head at Fang. “I’ve seen your earlier fights. You came into the WMCC as a brawler who could wrestle. You’re a lot better now. Your striking is much cleaner, and you’ve added a strong submission game.”

Fang scratched the back of her head. “Sazh is a good teacher, and I’ve never been one to rest on my laurels. You can never be sure of what your opponent is bringing to the cage, which is why I like to make sure that I’m bringing as much as possible.”

“How do you feel about your fight with Paine?” Lightning could do this. Talking about combat had always come easily to her – too easily, if Serah had anything to say about it. It was only talking about her personal life that was hard. “She’s going to be tough.”

“She will be, but that’s what it means to be champion.” Fang smiled faintly. “To be a real champion, you have to beat the best. And to stay a real champion, you have to keep beating the best. I don’t want to be a paper champion. Win, lose, or draw, I want to face the best there is. That’s the only way I’ll ever know how good I am.”

“I understand that.” Lightning leaned back against the bench. Her father had always taken good care of his fighters, matching them carefully until they were ready. But once they were ready, he had let them test themselves against the best there was. “I’ve seen a lot of Paine’s fights. She’s a good striker, but she favours her right hand too much. Sure, it’s a great right hand, but she tends to go fishing with it a lot. She’d get punished for it more often, but her left hook isn’t bad, and she’s smart enough to soften people up with leg kicks first.”

Fang raised one eyebrow. “You sound like you watch a lot of tape.”

“It’s a habit I got from my father.” Lightning shook her head to clear the memories away. She’d spent many an hour sitting beside her father as a child, the two of them watching footage of fights as he calmly explained everything he saw to her. 

“You should talk to Sazh, see if he’ll let you watch tape with him. He’d appreciate someone else with an eye for detail.” Fang gave Lightning an amused look. “By the way, you’ll be meeting Vanille for the first time today, right?”

“Yes.” Lightning paused. “Why are you smiling like that? Sazh was the same way.”

“Trust me, you’ll understand when you meet Vanille.” 

X X X

Vanille wasn’t anything like Lightning had been expecting. True, some of the Jiu Jitsu masters she’d met in the past had looked quite unassuming, but Vanille didn’t look unassuming – she looked harmless. The petite redhead looked more like a kindergarten teacher than a martial arts master. Lightning could probably break her in half with one punch.

It had taken just one roll on the mat with Vanille to convince her that she had sorely underestimated the other woman.

Vanille had forced Lightning to tap out to a choke in a little less than two minutes before systematically demonstrating half a dozen other submissions that Lightning had tried – and failed – to fend off. It was like trying to grapple against an octopus – a grinning, red-haired octopus with a penchant for choking people.

“Ugh.” Lightning got back to her feet. No wonder, Sazh had sent her off to practice with Vanille. “Where did you learn how to do all those things?” 

“I’m not big, but I am clever. Jiu Jitsu is all about being clever.” Vanille smiled sunnily. “Well, Sazh was right about you. You’re not too bad, but you’ve still got a lot of work to do. Apart from taking you back to basics and fixing everything up, I need to change the way you think. At the moment, you’re living a little too much in the moment. I’ve seen a bit of your striking. You’re good. You set up your shots, and you always think about what your next move might be. You have to do the same thing with grappling. It’s not enough to just survive from moment to moment – you have to think about what you’ll do next. What transitions are you going to make? What submission attempts can try? What position should you look to get into?” She patted the mat. “Come on, let’s get started. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“How come you aren’t in the WMCC?” Lightning asked as she got back on the mat.

Vanille laughed. “Because unlike some people, I don’t enjoy getting punched in the face. Strangling people is much more my thing.”

X X X

“So, how was your first session with Vanille?” Sazh asked. He had to bite back a laugh. From the expression on her face, Lightning had probably been introduced to the twenty-seven different ways that Vanille knew to choke someone.

“She’s… interesting.” Lightning took a deep breath. That was certainly one way of putting it. But as aggravating as it was to realise how much work she still had to do on her grappling, she was pleased to have an instructor as good as Vanille. “But she’s good, very good.”

“That she is.” Sazh picked up some punching mitts. “I want to take you through your paces, get a closer look at all your striking. Then I’m going to have a look at your wrestling and grappling myself. Vanille might be the Jiu Jitsu specialist, but I want to see how it all fits together.”

“I’m going to be wrestling against you?” Lightning asked.

Sazh chuckled. “No. That’s what I have assistants for.” He nodded at one of the other women sparring on the other side of the gym. “Tifa there will be handling that part.”

“Okay.” Lightning strapped on her gloves. “Let’s get started.”

Sazh wasn’t lying about putting her through her paces. He examined all of her striking first, putting her through some basic drills before moving on to more advanced exercises. He had an eye for detail, pointing out flaws in her technique and showing her how she could correct them. It was great to finally have another set of eyes checking her technique. He showed her a few tricks too, ways to get a little bit extra out of her techniques, along with some new combinations and exercises to help her get the most out of her boxing.

Then he called Tifa over and watched as the two women wrestled and grappled. Lightning did her best to incorporate what she’d learned from Vanille, but the lessons were still far too fresh and Tifa had far more experience. The brunette was a real mixed martial artist, combining her wrestling and grappling to put Lightning on her back and keep her there. From the fights she’d seen, Lightning knew that Tifa could strike with the best of them too. 

But rather than rub in her superiority, Tifa added her own advice to Sazh’s. They went through a variety of different situations, with both Tifa and Sazh offering words of advice and encouragement. The dark-skinned man had a knack for keeping things simple, breaking each situation down to its basic components and explaining what Lightning should have done to avoid getting taken down or what she should have done once she’d been taken down.

“It’s all right,” Tifa said as she helped Lightning back up to her feet for another round of wrestling. “I know it can seem a bit overwhelming, but you’ll pick it up soon enough. Experience is the best teacher, you know.”

“It is.” Lightning nodded, getting back into position and beckoning Tifa forward. “Come on.”

Tifa smiled. “That’s the spirit.”

X X X

Fang wasn’t the biggest fan of watching film. She understood why it was useful, and she made sure to watch film of each of her opponents before facing them. But she had always done her best learning in the cage, where she could feel out her opponent’s weaknesses for herself. Still, it was handy to have Sazh break a fighter down frame-by-frame, and their film sessions had gotten more interesting ever since Lightning had become a regular member. Apparently, Sazh approved of the pink-haired woman’s insight.

Today’s tape session had Fang, Sazh, Tifa, Snow, Lightning, and Vanille. Vanille had taken to calling them the “Super Fighting Mega Friends” – a name that had earned her a chuckle from Sazh and Snow, a fond smile from Tifa, and a glare from Lightning, which had only made Vanille use the name even more.

“Paine has three main weapons on her feet.” Sazh started the tape. “Her left hook, her overhand right, and those leg kicks. She throws a few other things, but that’s the stuff you really have to watch out for. That right hand is an absolute sledgehammer.” They all winced as the footage showed opponent after opponent hitting the mat unconscious after a right hand to the jaw.

Vanille giggled. “They were going to call it the P-Bomb, but for some reason, the name never stuck.”

Fang grinned. “I wonder why.”

Sazh cleared his throat. “Anyway, what you can see here is that she uses her left hook and her leg kicks to try to control the mobility of her opponent. If you circle away from the right hand, you walk into the left hook. Eat enough of those leg kicks, and you’ll be a sitting duck for the right hand. Heck, even her clinch game revolves around landing shots up close and on the break while looking for an opening for that right hand of hers.”

“It is a great right hand,” Tifa said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get hit cleanly by it and not go down.”

Snow nodded. “She ended her last fight with it too. Set it up with a few left hooks and then – bang – instant knock out.”

Fang pursed her lips. She was a highly mobile fighter. She wasn’t as elusive, as say, Lightning had already proven to be, but she had a natural grasp of distance and timing that let her leverage her reach and versatility. If someone liked to box, she’d keep them at a distance. If they liked to kick, then she would crowd them. If they liked to strike, she would take them down. And if they like to grapple, she would keep the fight standing. When she’d first started, she’d been a brawler, but as her skills had improved, she’d become a well-rounded fighter who excelled at attacking her opponent’s weaknesses.

The only problem was that Paine had spent years building her game around her right hand. She knew the damage it could do, and she’d learned to compensate for its weaknesses. Beating her would be no small task.

“You need to be careful about jabbing too much,” Sazh said. The footage now showed Paine throwing that right hand over the top of her opponent’s jab to terrifying effect. “If you start pawing with your jab, or if you get too predictable, she’s going to time you with her right hand.”

“Look at her opponent,” Lightning murmured. “She was reaching with that jab. If you’re going to jab, then you need to commit. Make it hard and fast – more of a jolt. You need to tuck your chin and get your shoulder up too.”

“That’ll leave my body open for a punch or a kick,” Fang mused. “But I suppose that’s better than getting my head knocked off.”

“You could try some a lead side kick to the knee or body as she comes in,” Tifa suggested. “It’s got longer range than the jab or her right hand.”

Sazh nodded. “That could work, Fang, but we’d have to practice it. It isn’t something you’ve really used much, and I don’t want you relying on something unless you’re absolutely confident with it.”

“How about a takedown?” Snow folded his hands behind his head. “Fang’s got good wrestling and grappling. You could work for a submission or just some ground and pound. If you fake a few strikes and then go for quick level change, I doubt she’d be fast enough to tag you with that right hand.”

“Not everybody is as strong as you are,” Fang replied. “And she’s not easy to take down. Most of her opponents haven’t had much luck, and she’s pretty good fighting off her back too.”

Sazh gestured at the footage. “That’s her transitioning from a triangle choke into an arm bar. She’s smooth, very smooth. I know she’s dangerous on her feet, but following her to the ground may not be the best idea either.” 

“So, what is the game plan?” Fang asked.

“I think we should focus on taking away her big weapons and playing to your strengths. She’s used to wearing people down with leg kicks, but I think you can more than match her in that department. If you keep chopping away at her front leg, you’ll cut down on her mobility and take away some of her explosiveness. She won’t be able to shift her weight properly to throw that right hand if you take away her front leg either. At the same time, I want to work on some actual counters to her leg kicks. She drops her hands a little when she throws them, so if you can time her and step in at the right moment, you might be able to land a few good shots of your own. I want you to really work your distances and angles too – she can’t land if you’re out of range and circling to her left will at least make things harder. Don’t be afraid to get into a clinch either – that right hand can’t land at such close range. Sure, she’s got the hook, but that doesn’t do the same kind of damage as the right.”

“She can get wild too,” Tifa added, pointing at the footage. “Once she starts throwing, she really likes to let her hands go.”

“A quick left hook could catch her when she’s winding up for the right,” Lightning said. “Or you could try to work the clinch. She won’t be able to throw the right from there unless it’s off the break, and if you’ve got her backing up, she won’t be able to set herself to really throw it hard.”

Fang chuckled. “You all make it sound so easy.”

Sazh patted her on the shoulder. “Fang, if it was easy, everybody would be a champion.”

X X X

The three months to Fang’s championship fight passed in a blur. She split her time between training, watching film, and resting. Lightning was a constant presence at the gym. Sazh had pulled a few strings and gotten her onto the undercard of Fang’s fight. One of the other fighters had pulled out with an injury, and the WMCC wanted a replacement to face Jihl Nabaat.

It would be a tough fight – Jihl was a good fighter with several years of experience in the WMCC. But Lightning had leapt at the opportunity and thrown herself into her training with even greater ferocity than before. It was sort of adorable watching Lightning kidnap Vanille to help her with her grappling while badgering extra lessons out of Tifa after she’d finished each day’s training with Sazh.

Fang still found time to relax – albeit usually in the form of some very light sparring with whoever was on hand, which was usually Lightning.

“So, how is your training going?” Fang asked as she circled Lightning, throwing the occasional jab and then weaving away from Lightning’s right hand. 

Lightning made a disgusted sound. “I’m doing better than before, but I’ve got a long way to go. This is the first time that I’ve really had access to top-class grappling and wrestling instructors.”

“Well, I think you’re doing all right. Vanille is one the best pure grapplers I’ve ever seen. Don’t let how small she is fool you – if she and a bull got into a fight, I’d put money on her choking the bull out. As for Tifa, well, she’s due for a title shot pretty soon.”

“I know that. It’s just…”

“You’re not used to coming off second best?” Fang chuckled. “Trust me, you get used to it. The moment you start believing you’re invincible is the moment somebody kicks your ass.” She took one of Lightning’s punches on the shoulder and replied with a body kick. Lightning stepped forward, robbing the kick of its power and tried for a takedown. Fang shook it off. “Besides, you’re in luck. Jihl is more of a striker – she likes to bait people and counter punch. If you keep your cool, I think you’ve got a good chance.”

“I’ve seen the footage of her previous fights.” Lightning’s eyes narrowed as she sprawled to fend off a takedown from Fang. “She has great technique and a very good grasp of spacing. She fights like a fencer.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Fang laughed. “But those hands of yours are like bullets out of a gun. And you know what they say about bringing a sword to a gunfight…”

Lightning’s lips curved up into a smile. “We’ll see how it goes.”

X X X

Fang watched Lightning’s fight from her dressing room. It was several fights before hers, so she didn’t have to worry about missing her warm up.

Lightning came out of her corner much more aggressively than Fang was used to. She threw a series of punches as she moved forward, and Fang’s brows furrowed. This wasn’t the Lightning she was used to seeing, but Sazh and Lightning had both seemed confident in the plan they’d devised – a plan that Fang was not privy too.

Was Lightning so nervous about her first fight in the WMCC that she’d gone off script? Jihl gave ground at once, and Fang could tell that the blonde was practically licking her lips at the thought of catching Lightning as she moved forward, her punches falling just short of connecting. Sure enough, Jihl moved back one more step and then stopped, stepping into a hard right hand that should have caught Lightning flush on the jaw.

Should have.

Lightning jerked her head out of the way in the nick of time – her reflexes were unreal – and then pulled Jihl into a clinch. She drove two hard knees into Jihl’s sides and then shoved her back, adding a thumping kick to the body. Jihl winced and circled away, throwing a hard leg kick and then a long, jolting jab. Lightning’s head jerked back, but she continued to advance, ducking another jab before catching a right hand on her gloves.

“Come on,” Fang muttered. “Don’t play Jihl’s game. She wants you to attack.”

But Lightning surged forward again, throwing half a dozen punches to drive Jihl back. But this time, as Jihl stepped back, Lightning chopped at her trailing leg with a cutting leg kick. Jihl stumbled back, her leg knocked aside. 

Fang’s eyes widened. So that was the plan. Jihl liked to lure her opponents into attacking her, so that she could retreat and then bait them into her right hand. She wasn’t the biggest puncher, but she could knock almost anyone out if she caught them moving into her punch. But each time she retreated, her trailing leg would be exposed – and her retreat meant that her stance was too unstable for her to check the kick or take it properly.

“That’s it,” Fang said. “Go after her.”

Lightning advanced again, and Jihl backed up only to have her trailing leg struck by another hard leg kick. Fang smiled grimly. Jihl’s leg was already starting to go red. The blonde couldn’t afford to take too many more of those kicks. Jihl must have come to the same conclusion too because the next time Lightning charged, she stood her ground.

The pair exchanged blows near the fence of the cage. Jihl had excellent technique, but she preferred to fight at range, striking with long, accurate shots. Lightning had no problems fighting up close. She drove Jihl back with a pair of jabs to the body and then went upstairs with an overhand right and a left hook. 

Jihl staggered as the hook landed, and Lightning followed it with a left kick to the body and then a knee to the side as she crowded Jihl up against the fence. Jihl pulled Lightning into a clinch to try to buy herself time, but Lightning fought her way out of it, landing hooks and uppercuts until Jihl finally managed to get back to the centre of the cage. The round ended with Jihl landing another long jab to Lighting’s cheek and a kick to Lightning’s leg, but Fang was certain that Lightning had won the round.

The fight ended midway through the second round. Jihl caught Lightning with a solid right hand as the pink-haired woman threw another leg kick. Lightning stumbled back, and Jihl lunged in to try to end the fight. Lightning dodged another right hand and landed a perfect elbow as Jihl’s punch missed. It caught Jihl flush on the jaw, and her legs went wobbly. Lightning lined up that laser of a straight right, and a few seconds later, she was walking away as Jihl sprawled face down on the mat.

“Not bad, Lightning.” Fang breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to worry about her own fight now. “Not bad.”

X X X

Adrenaline raced through Fang’s veins as she and Paine touched gloves. The silver-haired woman nodded once, and Fang nodded back. This was it. This was what she lived for. Only one of them would walk out of the cage a champion.

The crowd let loose a deafening roar. The bell sounded.

Fang began to circle. Her stance was squarer than usual to help her take Paine’s leg kicks. The other woman’s eyes narrowed faintly, and she faked a jab before throwing a leg kick. Fang checked the kick and continued to circle. As Paine looked to throw another leg kick, Fang countered with one of her own. The silver-haired woman grunted and went for a jab followed by a right hand to the body. Fang parried the jab and winced as the body shot hit home. Damn, Paine had some real power in that hand.

They exchanged more jabs and leg kicks. Neither of them had landed anything that big yet, but Fang was already getting a better sense of Paine’s timing. When the other woman went for another leg kick, Fang stepped forward, driving her right hand at Paine’s jaw. Paine managed to flinch away at the last moment, but Fang changed levels, driving at her hips and shoving her back into the fence.

As they jockeyed for position, Fang gave up Paine’s hips and winged an elbow at her jaw. It missed, but Paine wasn’t able to avoid the knee to the side that followed or the sharp hook to the body that finally drove her off the fence and back into the centre of the cage. As Fang advanced, Paine threw her overhand right. It was a tremendous punch, and even though Fang took the brunt of it on her lead shoulder, it still hurt. 

They chipped at each other from long range again, both of them working leg kicks and jabs before Fang changed it up with a lead side kick to Paine’s midsection. The kick drove the silver-haired woman back, and Fang chopped at her front leg as she tried to close the gap for a right hand. 

Paine faked a jab and then dove into a takedown attempt. Fang bit back a curse. She hadn’t expected that. She tried to sprawl and maintain control over her hips, but Paine was incredibly strong. They ended up on the ground, and Fang scrambled to free herself as Paine grabbed her right wrist and tried to lock in an arm bar.

Clearly, Paine had come with a more aggressive submission game than in her previous fights.

Fang rolled with the submission attempt and managed to wrench her arm free without taking any damage, but Paine lunged forward again, determined to keep the fight on the ground. Fang found herself on her back as Paine reared up to start some ground and pound. She managed to pull guard, but Paine shoved one forearm into her face and then dropped into a short, sharp elbow.

Fang hissed and felt blood trickle down her face. Damn it. She was cut, and it was only the first round. Her legs loosened for a moment, and Paine got her hips free enough to posture for a proper punch. In desperation, Fang grabbed the arm that was pinning her down and swung her legs up into a triangle choke. Paine stepped around Fang’s head and tried to move into side control.

This was bad. Fang abandoned her choke attempt and scrambled to keep Paine from getting side control. A mad fight for position followed, and Fang managed to get back to her feet, landing a hard uppercut as Paine tried for another takedown. To her credit, the other woman was merely stunned rather than truly hurt, and Fang followed the uppercut with a kick to the body and another kick to the leg.

Blood trickled down her brow, and Fang fought the urge to blink. If she did, she knew Paine would seize the opportunity. As the round drew to a close, they ended up against the fence. Paine landed a left hook that snapped Fang’s head to the side, and Fang landed a hard right in reply, ducking under Paine’s overhand right.

“How bad is it?” Fang asked as her cut man got to work in a bid to staunch the bleeding from her cut. “Sazh, how bad is it?”

“It’s nothing,” Sazh said. He caught her gaze. “You’re doing fine, Fang. You’ve taken away her right hand – that’s why she’s trying to take you down. Keep throwing those leg kicks but don’t get too predictable. If you keep chopping away, she won’t have the same kind of strength when she shoots for a take down. You had a lot of success up against the fence – if you can get her there again, then work your hooks and uppercuts but be ready for her hook. If you’re at range, keeping circling to her left, she’ll get impatient and start reaching with her right hand, that’s when you hit her with your left hook or your uppercut.”

“Got it.” Fang nodded. Things hadn’t gone as expected in the first round, but she’d survived. She was sure that she could handle Paine’s grappling now that she expected it. And if she could continue to take away Paine’s right hand, she would have the advantage. But she had to be careful. If her cut got any worse, it could end the fight.

The bell rang for the second round.

The second round began with Paine targeting the cut above Fang’s eye with her jab. It was a good tactic – if Fang couldn’t see, then she couldn’t defend herself properly. Fang was forced to bring her guard up higher than she liked to protect her eye, and Paine took advantage of that by landing several punishing blows to the body.

At the same time, however, Paine’s targeting of the cut made her more predictable. Fang slipped a jab and drove the other woman up against the fence. She leaned in, keeping them chest-to-chest to ensure that Paine couldn’t throw her right hand. In the meantime, Fang got to work with short, sharp hooks and uppercuts along with the occasional knee or elbow. 

When Paine finally managed to shove her off, Fang thumped a leg kick home and then followed it with a side kick to push Paine back out of range. The silver-haired woman went back to work with her jab as more blood trickled down into Fang’s eye. The moment she blinked, Paine uncorked a thunderous right hand. Fang managed to jerk her head out of the way, and the punch thudded into her shoulder.

Paine followed up with an attempt at a takedown – a single leg. But Fang hopped her way to the fence and got free, firing off a quick one-two upstairs before landing another hard leg kick. Paine feinted high and went for the takedown again. This time, she got it. But Fang won the scramble, fighting her way back to the feet before tripping Paine in the clinch. Fang managed to land an elbow of her own from top position before the round came to an end.

“Good round,” Sazh said. “You won that one. Keep doing what you’re doing, but remember to protect that eye.”

“It’s bleeding more.” Fang hissed as her cut man continued to work on the wound. “And dealing with that jab is leaving me open to the body.”

“I know.” Sazh pursed his lips. “Try to open up a bit more distance. Stay out of range of the jab unless you’re planning on committing. Let her come to you – walk her into a kick or a punch.”

Fang nodded and got to her feet as the bell rang for the third round.

The third round was a slugfest with Paine determined to find a home for her overhand right and Fang determined to keep her at bay. Fang wasn’t used to fighting off the back foot, but she could do it if she had to. She backed up, throwing the occasional kick and relying mostly on her longer reach to land solid jabs to the head and body. Paine must have watched Lightning’s fight because she landed several hard kicks to Fang’s trailing leg as she backed up.

Midway through the third, Fang could feel the round slipping away. Paine had landed the harder shots, and the cut was still bleeding. She needed to get Paine on the back foot. She retreated two steps and then stopped, springing up into a knee that caught the other woman coming forward. Paine landed a wild punch, but Fang’s knee drove the wind out of her. Fang immediately let her hands go, landing an uppercut and a looping hook before Paine backed out of range.

The two of them circled each other. Paine lunged forward, and Fang drove her back with a hard jab and a leg kick before circling away and ducking under a powerful right hand. The round ended with the two of them pressed against the fence in a clinch, landing whatever blows they could.

“That was a close round,” Sazh said as the cut man tilted Fang’s head up. “She’s starting to feel those leg kicks. Trust me, I can tell. But you’ve got to stay careful. She went fishing with her right hand last round, and she’ll probably do it again this round. Be careful when you jab, but be ready with the left hook if she starts throwing the right hand without setting it up.”

The fourth round began.

Paine rushed out of her corner, driving Fang up against the fence and securing a takedown with a trip. Fang was forced to give up her back as Paine fought to lock in a rear-naked choke. For a few seconds, Fang thought Paine might actually get it. But she was able to loosen the other woman’s grip enough to squirm free and roll away before getting back to her feet.

They circled each other for a moment before Paine went for another takedown. Fang sprawled and kept the fight standing. Paine feinted another takedown to close the distance only to throw her overhand right once she was in range. But Fang was ready. She fired off a quick left hook and caught Paine flush on the jaw. If she’d been able to throw the punch with all her weight behind it, she might have ended the fight there. Instead, she could only stagger Paine.

As the silver-haired woman tried to clear her head, Fang threw a hard right of her own followed by a vicious leg kick. Paine winced and jerked her leg back. The legs kicks really had begun to add up. But Paine ended the round with a furious rally, taking a hard jab to the head in order to land one of her own that widened the cut above Fang’s eye and left her half-blind. A hail of punches followed, and it took every bit of Fang’s talent and experience to weather the storm and reply with a few hard shots of her own, the best of which was a desperate uppercut that knocked Paine back after she’d sent Fang reeling with a right hand to the cheek.

“Fang, listen to me.” Sazh caught and held Fang’s gaze as their cut man did his best to staunch the bleeding. The referee came over to take a look at the cut, and Fang gave him a smile. The last thing she needed was to have the fight stopped because of the cut. “This fight is pretty much even. You need to win this round. Paine thinks she’s got you on the run, and that’s okay. Let her think that. She’s going to go after you hard – that’s why you’re going to play possum. Lure her in. You caught her with the left hook last round. You can do it again. Remember, her legs are hurting. If you catch her, don’t let her get away. Go after her.”

Sazh was right. Paine smelled blood, and she went right at Fang from the bell. She shook off Fang’s jab and a stiff side kick and then leapt in with a lead hook. Fang parried the punch and replied with an elbow that came a hair’s breadth from Paine’s chin. But the silver-haired woman remained undaunted, throwing her left hook again and again to keep Fang in place before unloading with her right hand.

Fang caught the punch on her gloves, and Paine drove her into the fence with a series of wild punches. Paine blazed away with both hands again, looking for the knock out punch as Fang bobbed and weaved, blood covering almost half her face. As Fang remained trapped against the fence, Paine continued to load up on her punches. She was trying to end the fight with a knockout.

But Fang had finally gotten Paine’s timing down. As the other woman wound up for another overhand right, Fang beat her to the punch with a hard left hook. This one had more of her weight behind it, and Paine stumbled away. Fang was on her in an instant, following up with a pair of right hands to the head and a thudding kick to the body.

Paine tried to put some distance between them, but Fang refused to let her get away. She charged forward, half-falling into a takedown attempt. With a growl of effort, Fang managed to grab hold of a double-leg, and the two of them crashed to the mat. The fall drove the breath out of Paine, and Fang landed one hard elbow to the head and then another. A bloody cut opened above Paine’s eyes, a mirror image of the one Fang had, and Fang used the other woman’s momentary loss of vision to wrestle her hips free, so that she could throw a proper punch.

The blow rocked Paine’s head back, and Fang tried for another punch. Paine managed to pull guard in time to stifle the attack, and Fang fought to work herself free. Slammed one fist into Paine’s side – the same side almost all of her body kicks had been aimed at. She couldn’t get much leverage from her position, but her earlier kicks must have done some damage. Paine hissed, and her grip loosened just enough for Fang to get her hips free.

Fang managed to get into full mount – scooting up so that she was straddling Paine – and she began to rain punches down. The fight could go either way – she needed to either end it here or at least win the round. Paine bucked sharply and threw her off, and the pair of them got back to their feet.

Both of them were bleeding badly from their cuts now, and Fang fired off a pair of stiff jabs before launching another leg kick. Paine’s lead leg almost gave out, and Fang set her feet to throw the hardest right hand she could muster. Paine caught most of it on her gloves, but what got through was still enough to drive her back.

Fang went after her again, pulling her into a clinch and trying to drag her head down into a knee. Paine braced her arms against Fang’s thighs to hold off the attack, and Fang broke the clinch, firing a hard right to the body as they moved apart. Paine wiped the blood from her face and advanced, limping, in a bid to wrestle the round back from Fang.

As Paine moved in, Fang chose to meet her halfway. They clashed in the centre of the cage, and Fang almost walked straight into an overhand right. The punch went just wide of the mark, and Fang landed a stinging right uppercut followed by a long left hook that had Paine wobbling toward the fence.

Fang rushed after Paine. Another wild hook caught Paine on the chin, and Fang followed it with a right kick to the head. Paine went down, and Fang followed her, trying to end the fight with some ground and pound. To her disbelief, Paine somehow managed to stay conscious, pulling guard and hanging on desperately as the last few seconds of the round ticked over.

Fang stumbled back to her corner and all but fell onto her stool. On the other side of the cage, Paine did the same.

“You won that round,” Sazh said. “And I’m pretty sure you won the fight too.”

“I hope so.” Fang hissed as someone wiped the blood off her face. “I would hate to go through all of that and lose.”

As the crowd continued to applaud, the referee called both Fang and Paine over. The two of them locked eyes and then gave mutual nods of respect. Whatever the judges said, there could be no doubting that it had been one hell of a fight.

Fang could barely hear the announcer over the crowd, but when the referee raised her hand, it sank in. She’d won. She’d defended her title again. One judge had scored the fight a draw, but the two other judges had scored it in Fang’s favour, three rounds to two.

“We’re having a rematch,” Paine muttered as they embraced in a show of sportsmanship.

“Rematch?” Fang laughed. “Not for at least a year.”

X X X

Two years later…

“So, how do you feel about earning your first title shot?” Fang asked as she walked Lightning back to her hotel room. The pink-haired woman might have had a black eye, but there was no missing the smile on her face. “Do you think you’re ready?”

Lightning glanced at Fang. It had been two years since she’d joined Sazh’s team. She’d earned her title shot the hard way – fighting her way through the best fighters in her division. It had been a hard, but it had been worth it. She had a contract with the WMCC and several sponsorships under her belt. For the first time in a long time, she had more than enough money. “Of course I’m ready.”

Fang smirked. “Even if I’m the one you’re fighting?”

Lightning laughed. “Fang, there’s no one I’d rather beat for the title.”

“You talk a big game. Let’s just hope you can back it up.” Fang smiled. Of course Lightning would back it up. Just like her, Lightning was a fighter.

**Author's Note:**

> As always I do not own Final Fantasy. I am not making any money off of this either.
> 
> I’ll let you guys in on a little secret: the first draft of this story weighed in at a paltry 4000 words. This version of the story is roughly 11,000 words. That’s an enormous increase in length, relatively speaking. 
> 
> Anyway, this story all came from a very simple idea. I wanted to write a story with a lot of hand-to-hand combat in it. Having the characters take part in an MMA competition seemed like an ideal way to do that. It also gave me an excuse to bust out some more fighting-oriented terminology (I hope I didn’t confuse too many people). 
> 
> During the first draft, I also tossed around ideas about what kind of feel I wanted the story to have. Rather than go for something romantic, I decided to focus on the fighting aspect. I wanted to try to capture some of the thrill of combat. I also felt that inserting a strong romantic element would dilute the story, taking away from the focus on combat and making it even longer than it already is. I also didn’t think that Fang and Lightning would leap straight into a romance, given the circumstances. As for the ending, well, Fang is definitely better at the start of the story (she has much more experience and a more well-rounded skill set), but a lot can change in two years. I’ll let you guys imagine who wins.
> 
> So, yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed this story. I have a sneaking suspicion that it has more combat (as a percentage of the story) than any story I’ve ever written. Probably the only thing I wasn’t able to fit in was Vanille landing a flying squirrel (yes, that is an actual, real life move) on Lightning. I figured that was so awesome it might just break the universe. That and Vanille is supposed to specialise in Jiu Jitsu, not wrestling although I can see her learning the move just because of its name.
> 
> I also write original fiction, mostly fantasy. You can find links to it in my profile. If you’re looking for something fun to read, try Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf, or, if you want something more serious, try The Last Huntress.
> 
> As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.


End file.
